Why then in Australia has the uptake of mobile learning not been as predicted in documents such as the 2014 Horizon Report K-12? Challenges are generally associated with infrastructure (particularly access), training (teachers and students) and cost (bandwidth, devices and applications). Time is also a factor that goes hand-in-hand with training. Safety of student data is being worked around in Education Queensland but filters, blocks and a restricted online work environment make it difficult to teach true mobile learning. Most of these areas can be improved with sufficient funding and government support if and when mobile learning is seen by key stakeholders as an educational priority. The opportunities for mobile learning lie in the creativity of the minds of device and application designers, educators designing authentic learning experiences and of course users. Having a mobile device doesn't close the digital divide, digital literacy is necessary. Pedagogy frameworks and practices that enable learners to acquire and develop digital literacy are vital to 21st Century students. Mobile learning supports a constructive learning process in and out of a formal education setting. The video below has a brief example of how a school can embed mobile learning in the classroom and provide authentic learning experiences.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeanne-beliveaudunn/teaching-today-for-21st-c_b_5631595.html
The inclusion of ICT capability and digital technologies curriculum in the National Curriculum is a step in the right direction however in my work context classroom teachers are largely unfamiliar with the capability and even less so of the digital technologies curriculum. A push on the benefits of mobile learning and exemplar in pedagogical design of authentic learning is a need in the context of my school. In the case of many educators - you don't know what you don't know - mobile learning is a bit of a mystery still.
Three of these benefits of mobile learning are:
- Portable -allow anywhere, anytime learning (fits into the lives of learners).
- Pervasive and ubiquitous.
- Increases accessibility for learners with special educational needs.
The blog post Mobile Technology provides some of the affordances of an iPad that support these benefits. Some applications that increase the accessibility to the consumption and production of content/knowledge are provided in the presentation mentioned in the post, Mobile Learning - Presentation in the Cloud. These application were selected because they would support classroom tasks in an Australian classroom. They provide examples suitable to a wide range of learners. Catering to students with learning disabilities is a growing concern in most primary schools. Apps and devices that empower students with visual, hearing and intellectual disabilities will promote inclusivity and differentiation practices in an affordable and manageable way. Student learning can continue at home when students are unable to attend school. The post iPad - Dragon Dictation and iWorks - Affordances provides one example of how a mobile device and applications can increase accessibility.
Mobile learning has led to much of the content on the web that has been crowd generated. When in a school that is heavily equipped with stationary PCs (like mine) it is difficult to remember that in much of the world mobile is the majority. There is an interesting info graphic around this proliferation on the Business Insider Australia website. What is interesting to note is the developing world is now more mobile than the developed world. Storage in "the cloud" alleviates issues around access anywhere, anytime and the loss of product. So, teaching students about how to use and organise their content in the cloud will be important element of future pedagogy. Thinking outside the primary school classroom - mobile devices have pervaded society. Higher education and business organisations (adult learners) are providing members with learning opportunities that can be delivered to learners out of work time and outside of the workplace. Bring your own device (BYOD) is becoming more commonplace despite challenges with format and platform as alluded to by Paul Oliveri in his blog post. This concept has not been implemented in many schools yet most likely due to security and safety online concerns. It does seem inevitable though based on societal statistics around BYOD in the workplace.
The native functions of audio and video embedded in mobile devices make them perfect for learning and content creation at times that may otherwise be considered a waste of time. In my life that would be times such as being on hold waiting for your turn to speak to your internet provider, cooking some dinners, sitting in the waiting room of a doctor's surgery. Learning in a mobile fashion I can create text, respond to communication and search for information instantly needed at these otherwise "dead times". Schools that provide mobile learning experiences are schools equipping future employees with collaboration, communication, creation and problem solving skills and knowledge that can be transferred to the 21st Century workforce environment. Not only that, they are skills and knowledge necessary for life-long, on-the-go, non-formal learning - and isn't that what much of learning in life is?
